1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method and implementing apparatus for assisting a customer in selecting color cosmetic products.
2. The Related Art
Color cosmetics are highly personal to an individual. An optimum shade is selected having relevance to a customer""s skin coloration and to a color fancied by the customer.
Assistance in the selection of an optimal color shade is available to help the consumer. Clinque and Carlion have installed computers at sales counters for use by customers. Information on color, shade, oiliness and other properties of a customer""s skin are punched into the computer which then determines the company""s most closely matching product. Two major companies, Prescriptives (Division of Estee Lauder) and Visage (Division of Revlon) have for some time practiced a manual system for evaluating a subject""s skin color. The sales person is trained through the use of match cards to identify a user""s matching skin foundation. Unfortunately manual systems suffer from poor reproducibility. Extensive training must also be invested in a sales person.
German patent 41 10 299 C1 (Erdtmann) discloses use of a facial sensor for reading skin property values and then utilizing the measured values in selecting an optimum skin product. Subsequently, the information is sent to an automatic cosmetic dispensing system for blending selected additives to formulate the selected product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,692 (Rigg et al.) reports a system for customizing a facial foundation product at point of sale to a customer. Three essential elements are present. They include a skin analyzer for reading skin properties, a programmable device receiving the reading and correlating same with an optimal formula and a formulation machine for preparing the facial foundation product from various cosmetic chemical compositions. Technology described in this patent has commercially been embodied in Elizabeth Arden""s Custom Color system available for many years in major department stores. Arden""s system has been a significant advance in the art. Yet it suffers from certain deficiencies including the inability of customers to evaluate different color cosmetics in the context of their own skin coloration and in juxtaposition to combinations of different facial makeover products. Thus it would be desirable to have visualized a lipstick and a foundation, eye shadow and/or blush on a color interactive basis. Especially desirable would be to evaluate the interaction of the various color cosmetics without actually having to place these on one""s own face.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and apparatus for selecting a facial color cosmetic scheme from a palette of different shades and makeup products without requiring the actual placement of these products on the customer""s face.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and apparatus for selecting a facial color cosmetic scheme allowing rapid visualization of different colored makeup permutations on various areas of the face in a simultaneous manner.
A method is provided for selecting a facial cosmetic color scheme, the method including:
(i) providing a computer module including a color monitor screen and a spectrophotometer;
(ii) measuring a customer""s facial color with the spectrophotometer;
(iii) transmitting information on the measured facial color to the computer module for display of that color on a model face generated on the monitor screen;
(iv) allowing the customer to select at least one area of the face to be colored with a color cosmetic product; and
(v) colorizing the area of the model face with the selected color.
Optionally a further step may be added involving printing on paper the colorized display from step (v) appearing on the monitor. By this method, a customer can select eye shadow, eye liner, lipstick, lip liner, blush, foundation and/or powder with selected colors, at least some of the combination having been first evaluated on a model face generated on the computer monitor screen. A program controlling the color and selection scheme can further be included to correlate a vendor""s products which will achieve the selected color palette.
Also provided is a system for selecting a facial color cosmetic scheme, the system including:
(i) a computer module connected with a color monitor screen;
(ii) a spectrophotometer for measuring skin color;
(iii) a mechanism for transfer of facial color data obtained from measurements with the spectrometer over to the computer module and transmission onto the monitor screen; and
(iv) an interactive program displayed on the monitor allowing the customer to select at least one color for application to an area of a model face appearing on the monitor.